In The Mountains | JiminxMalereader | ❌

| 1 | - | The start |

When I found out that one of the babies were gone, I felt my world crash down to the ground. The eyes of the mother were heartbreaking, her youngest child was gone - she could not leave the spot and find it. There were one me to find the baby, so I did my job and quickly got the mother and hurt father food to survive for a few days. I could not let them die in their own home with their babies being so young. 

I packed my things and went down the mountain to get back what was not theirs. The father and the youngest had been out to play, but those soldiers somehow found them and attacked the father in defence of him protecting his child. The baby could not do anyway, only to watch and see its father get hurt. 

Now as I walk on my feet, near a forest I see a horse's lead being stuck in some trees. I walk slowly walk over and try to free it. As the job is getting done I take a close look at the horse and see how thin it is getting. The ribs are slowly getting visible to see, I keep my face straight as I take out my knife to cut the lead over. The horse springs free and runs somewhere else, but I continue to stand still. I slowly start to walk away from the spot and gets back on the road. I hear the horse letting out sounds "Come or stay" I say as I stop up for a second to stick a hand out for the horse to choose. And after a few seconds, it comes closer.

As I get closer to the city I see the city, the capital of the country. "Mind me getting on your back?" I say when the horse walks next to me, as it stops I take it as a signal that I can. We travel closer and closer to the city, and in the distance, I see the castle. The castle where the king lives, the king who rules over everyone, everyone who are the normal people, and the normal people who are a nobody without status in their hands. One of the reasons I do not live with the rest of my kind, it is a nightmare to live like them. I know that I can not live 100% like my family, but accept each other and makes sure that each other are safe.

The mother and I hunt as the father takes care of the babies back at the spot, but since one of their children are gone, I have to be the only family that will be able to get the baby in some kind of way without getting killed. I can not risk my family's lives when I can make everything safer and do it myself. 

The night falls and soon we arrive at the big gate "What is your purpose of coming in stranger?" I say nothing but give the paper to the soldier. The soldier looks at me with a strange look on his face "Mute stranger?" I shake my head, I tap the paper he holds, he looks at the paper and shakes his head "Not allowed-" Before the sentence is done, a bag of money is in his hands "Open" I say with my rusty voice "Sure sir, OPEN UP THE GATE!" The gate opens up and I ride inside. 

The view on the other side of the gate is almost beautiful. But yet it disgusts me that they are the ones who have the mother's child. They are evil creatures who have no respect for nature. I slowly ride over to where everyone else's horses are standing. "How long sir?" The elder man asks me as he starts to pour up some water for the horse "4 days" I pull out a small bag "One gold?" I ask him, he looks at me with a shook face "That is more than enough sir" I nod and step off the horse, I give him the leads and leave the place. 

The city is lit up with beautiful lanterns hanging over their heads as they walk around in their colourful hanboks. The buildings are just like I remember my father told me about when he visited me in the mountains as a young child.
My father was a man who wanted to protect me since he could not, he was a single parent my mother died soon after I was born, he never told me how. I never saw her face in my dreams, but he told me that she was beautiful. She was the light in his life. He often told me stories of how I ended up in the mountains as a kid.

As the story goes, it was because one day when he was at work I went with him to work. That day the soldiers had caught a female tiger and wanted to kill it. The tiger was brought to my father's workplace, he told me that I would look at the tiger with big eyes. He was nervous about what would happen if he left me alone with the tiger for a second. But surely nothing happened, but for a moment when he left to get us food the tiger got out from the cage. it was at that moment my life took a turn, my father knew none of what happened but the tiger took me back to the mountains. And when my father got back and saw that I was gone, he was furious. He looked everywhere, but when he heard that the tiger had run away, he knew where to look. 
Every time he told me the story he would draw the female tiger on the ground with a stick, the drawing was always a big and beautiful tiger - and for sure she was. As my father found me, he saw that I was safe, if not safer than I ever could be in my life. I was alive and fine, I was asleep in the female tiger's arms - he often said: "You looked like her own child" The female tiger never hurt me or my father in any kind of way. And from that, he knew that I would never be safe in the city with people who could not understand me and accept me for me. Because I was never like the other kids. I was more into nature and helping my father when I could. I was more into protecting family. 

Sadly my father died due to age, was weak from being a soldier for so many years. It had ruined his bones and made his heart weak. And one day when he came up to me I knew that it was time, he was gonna die in a matter of days. I took care of him as I should, he was my father - the one who wanted to be by my side until his last breath. I buried him in a stone vase that I made after he died. He wanted to be burned and put near his favourite view in the mountains. So every day he would be able to watch the sunset and sunrise. I knew back then that I could not go and live in the city, I did not belong there - I belonged in the mountains with my family. 

I look at the lanterns, as I think about if I should get some for my father's gave. But as I stand there, someone bumps into my shoulder "Ah sorry sir" But I do not look at him. "It is beautiful right?" I hum for a second and turn my head to see a male around my height.  "Are you new here?" I nod and he smiles so that his dimples stand out "I see that, where are you from? I do not recognize the fashion from anywhere" I just look back up at the lantern "Not from here" The man hums and says: 

"I see, want to grab a night snack my treat - I want to know about your home"